AuthorTopic: Not looking to start an online fight but … (Read 23167 times)

Bottom line is this....BLSD is not password protected for minorities (i.e. Blacks). Anyone is welcome to post and join the discussion. I really do not see how this is a big issue. WE (blacks) make up about ummmm, 4% (Sands, please correct me if I am wrong) of the legal profession. So yes, we do have something to talk about that may be a little different than what the average white law school applicant will be talking about.

Manny, why wouldn't you question the existance of BLSD on the BLSD board so that you could get a good idea/answer of why it exist? You initiating this thread seems very "trollish". That's like asking why there is a BET channel and not a WET (White Entertainment Television) channel.

Please feel free to join the discussion on BLSD, but do not instigate any online riots regarding the existance of a very SMALL community of black attorneys, law students, and law school applicants. Thanks!

That there is a BLSD is a very sad thing; and that there is apparently a need for a BLSD is a very sad state of affairs. I don't see anything wrong with asking an (emphasis here) open-ended question about it. The answers provided so far are unconvincing. For specific issues relating to specific groups there are threads that deal with them - an example that pops into my mind is the thread labeled "Homosexual PS"; the great majority of the threads in BLSD are not specific to particularly "black" questions regarding the admissions process; etc.

Manny appears to have made a few new revalations about different boards for different interests, so no need to beat a dead horse there in re. to the existence of the BLSD.

As for this quote above, I couldn't disagree more. I submit that anybody who would think that its s sad thing that a BLSD exists or even that a Black Culture exists in general is approaching the matter from the wrong perspective. Some say glass is half empty, some say glass is half full, its all based on your perspective. Here, we have a nation of diversity. The fact that those diverse people want to communicate and interact with each other is not a bad thing or anything to be sad about. Quite the contrary. If you are really concerned about race relations within the context of the legal profession, you should be celebrating the fact that there are enough black students to even create and sustain something like the BLSD. Now what would be sad is if we said that white students are not allowed to post on the BLSD. Absolutely not the case.

And to address the observation that not every thread is specifically germane to black questions regarding the admissions process I have 2 quick observations to consider. 1) The vast majority of the threads on LSD are not germane to law school period. 2) Nor is it mandated that they must be in order to be LSD post-worthy. People come on here to chat everyday with others who may or may not end up going to law school. We ask law school related questions in the interim, from time to time, and for the rest of the time that we're not, we talk about life. You talk about life as it relates to you with people who can relate to you, and frequent posters of the BLSD do the same. Again, nothing wrong about this. This is not to suggest that we cannot, or chose not to dialogue together between races. That assumption would be overbroad.

So please don't mistake the support that black students find on the BLSD as a negative sign of segregation. Its a support forum primarily for black students applying to law school to find others of similar backgrounds and communicate with one another, whether talking specifically about admissions or not. That is it. Because, whether you realize it or not, contrary to the proposition in the OP, we are not going through the same thing in applying to become part of a profession where blacks comprise, literally, 4%. Anybody making this assumption on behalf of black students would be gravely mistaken.

I will concede to redemption's second point above insofar as it speaks to the state of affairs in general, but it is definitely not limited to this board. That's the state of affairs in the legal profession and in our Country in general. Its sad but true. Its sad, but the fact remains that we still live in a nation where Race is 1 of the 5 federally protected classifications under Title VII. Trust me, I don't like it anymore than you do, but the problem goes waaaaaaaaay deeper than whether or not a group of students have created a BLSD on the internet. That's just the tip of the iceberg, ladies and gentlemen, but that's another debate for another thread.

On a closing note, as many have mentioned, the BLSD is not exclusively for black students. Its purpose as a support forum for black students should not signify to you that non-black students are unwelcomed. Andrew (LSD creator) realized this when he created it. So if bridging the gap is the concern of this thread, I implore everybody here to post regularly in the BLSD just like I'm chosing to post outside of the BLSD right now.

Logged

"A lawyer's either a social engineer or a parasite on society. A social engineer is a highly skilled...lawyer who understands the Constitution of the U.S. and knows how to explore its uses in the solving of problems of local communities and in bettering [our] conditions."Charles H. Houston

John Galt

Obviously, Redemption doesn't know the definition of segregation. And to compare BLSD to social segregation is not only ignorant, its insulting. BLSD is open to the entire board. It says something about the insecurity of the board as a whole if the majority isn't willing to freely engage (and with invitation, I might add) on some of the issues contained in BLSD. For example, social segregation is a perfect topic that can be discussed by all sides in BLSD. Then some people have the problem with it being called Black Law Student Discussion because it has the illusion of being restrictive. That would be an assumption, however. And it shows a lack of research. There is a mission statement on the first page of the first thread in the section that welcomes everyone - the name is only meant to be helpful. Then people may have a problem with it being catered to Blacks, just like people have a problem with BLSAs and HBCUs. In any society, there needs to be places and areas where minorities can engage and discuss issues with people that share their characteristic. It could be color, religion, whatever. But since being a minority does affect BLACK people especially in law school admissions process, I think there needs to be a place where we can all discuss issues and receive support from people that look alike. Some say color should not be an issue, but it is directly an issue with law school admissions. White people do not have to endure the same name calling, the same put downs, the same insults, the same contempt after each one of their offers of admission. White people are not perceived as inferior from the outset of this process and that each slot gained by a Black individual is a slot stolen from someone else. So there ought to be a BLSD where I can talk to people who look like me - who are going through the exact same thing I am - and who can understand exactly what I'm going through.

I've made many friends here - and many of them presumably are white. I appreciate their friendship and welcome their input here or on BLSD. But, sometimes I want to talk to someone who is sharing my experience. I may talk to them about things not related to the process, but it is relevant. And I should be able to find them easily.

White people do not have to endure the same name calling, the same put downs, the same insults, the same contempt after each one of their offers of admission. White people are not perceived as inferior from the outset of this process and that each slot gained by a Black individual is a slot stolen from someone else.

Sands - Thanks for the detailed post. I appreciated hearing what you had to say and, as a white guy who has always stayed away, thanks for the invite to BLSD.

When/if you and I meet FTF, our shoe sizes are not going to be very salient. It won't be something either of our brains notice right away. I can imagine a world where people with big feet have, over several hundred years, been enslaved, dominated, hated and ridiculed by people with small feet. In that world, there would be a "bigfoot" culture, that grew out of those experiences of evil and repression.

I think when white folk talk about black culture, a lot of what we are saying is that we wish that skin color was like shoe size. White folks over the last 400 years did some crazy nasty evil things to black folks and we are all living in cultures that developed in response to those evils. After recognizing the historical evils that helped shape black culture I think it is natural to wish that it had never happened like that. I love the blues, but I would certainly choose a world without slavery and lynching to all the Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters CD's.

At the same time, it did happen like that and that is why I am not upset at all, but actually very happy, that for example JG is going to Yale and I am not. So hopefully we are moving towards a future where we all understand each other a little more and all get along a little better!

White people do not have to endure the same name calling, the same put downs, the same insults, the same contempt after each one of their offers of admission. White people are not perceived as inferior from the outset of this process and that each slot gained by a Black individual is a slot stolen from someone else.

Now your being stereo-typical? Come on. Not all black people are called names and get put down and insulted that and certainly not by all white people. Stop with the boo-hoo.

I’m happy for anyone from a diverse background that gets admitted to school and ultimately lands in a competitive job. It will make everyone’s lives (I mean us as practicing attorney’s and general society) more interesting. I can’t wait until people of more diverse backgrounds are more prevalent in the Judge arena. By that time there should finally be a proper mix.

It seems to me that we have chosen, either deliberately or through apathy, to reproduce social segregation here, among the very people on whom an end to such segregation in the future relies, which is ironic and a bit dismaying. There should be more discussion about this issue, I think, and not less.

my .02

whoa. do you realize that integration/desegragation is not the same thing as assimilation? oh, YOU do not live among US. WE live among YOU. there is a difference. we are made to feel segregated every day. you look at us and say, "why can't they be more like....[you]. we look at your status and think the same thing. then we go in for an interview and are offered a job in the kitchen. please. don't make me start telling stories....

you know that no amount of assimilation will ever make clarence thomas appear more intelligent to the majority. why is that? he went to yale. ask yourself, do you find the man intelligent? was his intelligence on par with the rest of his yale class? your likely answer is no. why is that? you don't know him. what about joungalt? yes, because you can see his numbers. i want you to realize that many, in the future, who have not seen his numbers will question his acceptance to yale as aff. act. and why not...he can't walk around with his numbers on his chest. come on now...is that fair? but that's the world we live in.

almost forgot...there are some who question his acceptance as aff. act. even though they CAN see his numbers.